Query for a Hull City book I'm writing

Thanks Arnold. I've tried numerous methods for contacting Molby (Liverpool FC, local Liverpool newspapers, email addresses purporting to be his agent, his wife on Twitter, his own website). None of them work. Reading and Walsall aren't replying (the media desks at most football clubs are excellent, manned by lovely people, with Palace, Scunny, Southend and Colchester particularly good, but those two haven't been getting back). I've sent a few bits out to Leeds but can't get anything back from them on Gray. Ditto Neill and Arsenal (I think Terry has little to do with them now, from what I understand, and lives on the south coast somewhere). Ken and Steve I'm more confident on, it's just my few attempts so far have met dead ends.

 

Brian Little sort of offered help on Goodison, which I'm trying to take him up on. I think Whitmore is a bit more difficult. (For what it's worth, Brian Little may well be the world's friendliest man.) I've made tentative enquiries about Jay-Jay and Daniel Cousin too, but once you hit their national football FAs - which is how you're always advised to approach them - there's very little chance of anything unless you're with a very big media company.

 

Good effort so far by you, look forward to getting the book when it comes out. Will you let us know on not606?

 

Of course. I'm hopeful now for the back end of the year. It will help if I can find a sponsor, which the magnificent Brendon Smurthwaite (City's media man for most of the decade in question) is helping me with. If I wasn't such a completionist it would probably be done by now, but I want to ensure that if there's anyone big that isn't in the book, it won't be through the lack of trying. I'm passionate about ensuring that that era is recorded properly for generations to come (and Dave Richardson - club photographer through that time - has given me access to his whole collection, which can only enhance all of that) and raising as much money as possible for Dove House in the process.

 

Would be interested in JJ's thoughts re when he joined us, Wembley play off, promotion. Browny puts a lot down to him, making players believe anything was possible etc, His cameos, his only every sending iff in what (I think turned out to be his last game).

 

It's a good job George Weah never played for us!

 

JJ's Twitter feed seems to have little to do with the great man himself, and my only other route seems to be the Nigerian FA, which is a nightmare to get anything out of. He was playing in a masters tournament last summer but I was out of London for that, or else I'd have doorstepped him. So, so many people talk about his positive impact and what a lovely bloke he was.

 

Ah just seen a post with you saying you are struggling to get hold of him.

 

Bear in mind Chris's dad was not very tall.

 

Bamber was the name that came to my mind. But it seems a year early as I am sure they were over 11 at time which would have made it 91 at earliest. Unfortunately Curtis's dad is no longer here to ask.

 

Thanks. I'll give that a go. I managed to get something back from Jay-Jay's Twitter account but it certainly wasn't him. But if he's involved I'll persevere.

 

Another thought came to me, just hope it's better than the last one, a bad ref decision, in years gone by Anglia transmitted many a City game before Yorkshire TV came on the air in our part of Yorkshire area, at the time when Leeds were the Bremner/Hunter/Giles/Jack Charlton, and the rest. I always thought, and still do that Anglia's coverage has been the best I have seen of the City of that era. As I say just a though it might be worth a try.

 

Agreed re Anglia. Surprised in early 70s when I went to Belgium with work to find quite a few people interested in City. This was because they piped the football, and other programmes over to coastal areas like Ostend and Zeebrugge. Was amazed to see back then picture in picture screens in bars. Many years before they were seen over here.

 

For Molby you can probably find him bin dipping somewhere.

 

Seriously my mother in law would have been there. She always tells us about the City footballers she went out with to various dance halls around Hull.

 

You could try contacting them through various after dinner speaker companies
They might fob you off, but there’s a few to go at and they obviously must have a direct link to people like Molby themselves so they can offer him £2k to speak after eating

https://www.speakers4u.co.uk/jan-molby/

 

Hello everyone,

The book that I'm writing about City is getting close to finalisation (at last!). I'm just in the final stages, but I wondered if I could get a few opinions on something I'm struggling with: namely how much the book should cost.

Just as a recap, every penny it raised will go to Dove House Hospice (I won't be taking a penny out of it). I have interviewed about 100 players/manager/owners/backroom staff - including pretty much every big hitter you can imagine - and maybe 30 more fans. Their quotes will give an oral history of Hull City, focusing for the most part on the decade from 2000 to 2010, but with chapters on the preceding decades. My thoughts are around the £20 mark given how weighty the book will be, and given that the money will go to an excellent cause, but I just wanted to get the opinion of other City fans to see if that would be too much.

 

The final list of interviewees is:
Gary Alexander, Danny Allsopp, Ian Ashbee, Billy Askew, Nick Barmby, George Boateng, Mark Bonner, Gary Brabin, David Brown, Phil Brown, Wayne Brown, Neil Buckley, Ben Burgess, Fraizer Campbell, Chris Chilton, John Cooper, Leon Cort, Andy Dawson, Andy Daykin, Damien Delaney, Terry Dolan, Lawrie Dudfield, Paul Duffen, Matt Duke, Keith Edwards, Mike Edwards, Stuart Elliott, John Eyre, Craig ***an, Alan Fettis, Martin Fish, Caleb Folan, Ryan France, Kevin Francis, Richard Garcia, Mark Greaves, Geovanni, Stuart Green, Mark Hateley, Andy Holt, Brian Horton, Ken Houghton, Bryan Hughes, Stephen Hunt, Richard Jobson, Gary Johnson, Marc Joseph, Warren Joyce, John Kaye, Michael Keane, Dean Keates, Junior Lewis, Brian Little, Adam Lowthorpe, Dean Marney, Simon Maltby, Paul McShane, Colin Murphy, Paul Musselwhite, Les Mutrie, Boaz Myhill, Terry Neill, Jon Parkin, Phil Parkinson, Adam Pearson, Henrik Pedersen, Jason Price, Jeff Radcliffe, Sam Ricketts, Garreth Roberts, Don Robinson, Rodney Rowe, Sean Rush, Pete Skipper, Rob Smith, Brendon Smurthwaite, Greg Strong, Peter Swan, Peter Taylor, Michael Turner, Ken Wagstaff, Billy Whitehurst, Jon Whitney, Justin Whittle, Alan Wiley, Steve Wilson, Tom Wilson, Dean Windass, Raich Carter Jr, Roy Bly, Dave Burns, Mike White, Mark Robinson, Robert Crampton, Roy North, Phil Buckingham, plus many fans.

 

£20 sounds about right to me, Richard. I look forward to reading it.